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Broward Chapter Paralegal Association of Florida, Inc.The Broward BriefPresident’s MessageInside this issue:Executive Board4State Officers5Committees6Monthly Meetings7Events Calendar8Welcome New Members10Spring Seminar/Tampa11It’s May, the Lovely Month of May!What happened to January,February, March, and April?Time passes so quickly bywhen you are as busy as mostof us are on a daily basis.Your Broward Chapter hassome exciting plans for theupcoming months. I hope thatyou will find them to be funand educational and that youwill take advantage of them ifyour schedule permits.Jody Shulman, Esq., of USLegal Support is our June 6Dinner Meeting Speaker.Jody’s topic, Divorce Discovery ona Budget. Jody attends many ofour meetings, but unless youLisa C. Bono, CP, FRP—Presidentwere at PAFs Fall Seminar inBonita Springs in 2010, youprobably have not heard herspeak. She’s excellent and hadus “dancing in the aisles”! Youwon’t want to miss her presentation.PAF’s Statewide Spring Educational Seminar is being heldon June 1 and 2 in Tampa. Iwould encourage you to attend.Participating in the seminar willgive you an opportunity to seeyour State Organization inaction. You will also receive9.5 hours of CLE Credit, 1.5 ofwhich is ethics credit.Plans are underway to hold aSaturday Seminar in mid- The ABCs of ParalegalDesignations—Page 2 Broward County’sNew Veterans Court Page 19 Broward County Video E-Filing SmartForm Tutorials-Page15August which will include suchtopics as Federal Rules and Deadlines, Resume Preparation/InterviewTechniques, and Valid DiscoveryObjections. More informationwill be forthcoming as theplanning is completed.Spring has Sprung! Take SomeTime to Enjoy the season, as it toowill “quickly pass us by”.Interesting Articles: Explore PAF’s Website – Page 12SPRING 2012 ISSUESpringSpring always seems like agood time for some freshthinking and I don’t knowabout you but the temptationto clear away the cobwebs isirresistible.With the arrival of Spring welook forward to brighter skies,blooming flowers, and the feelof lush green grass under ourfeet. At least that’s how I feltwhen I lived up North. Not somuch so here in Florida whereone season merely fades intothe next.Spring provides a new beginning full of hope and promise.Spring makes you feel likewhistling. No matter how longthe winter, spring is sure tofollow.No winter lasts forever; Springis here!The Broward Brief May/June/July 2012 Page 1

The article appearing below was discovered by our Chapter Treasurer, Michelle Ridge, CP, CFLA, and is reproduced here with the author’spermission. When obtaining permission to reprint her article, Linda McGrath-Cruz, ACP FRP, told your editors, “I am very passionateabout paralegals continuing to add to their professional profile through certification, etc. I am constantly amazed by the fact that mostparalegals have no idea what their options are. Many people still think the path for success begins with being a paralegal and ends withbeing an attorney.” See more details About the Author at the conclusion of this reprint.The ABC’s of Paralegal DesignationsBy Linda McGrath-Cruz, ACP FRPWhen hiring paralegals for your practice, thereare many factors to be considered. You want to havethe right mix of education, experience, professionalismand personality. In Florida, there is no mandatory registration or certification of paralegals but there are a widevariety of voluntary measures that a paralegal can taketo improve his or her professional standing.Because of this lack of mandatory guidelines,there can be a lot of confusion. This confusion is notlimited to attorneys; some paralegals are not even sureof their correct title and sometimes refer to themselvesas being certified when they are not. Before you evenget to consider certification, it is easy to get confusedwhen simply trying to decide between a “legal assistant” and a “paralegal.” These two terms are synonymous – this is not a matter of preference or opinion, it isa fact. The terms are defined as such throughout thecountry in Supreme Court rulings, statutes, ethical opinions, bar association guidelines and other documents.There is, however, clearly a preference and pattern ofuse in having “legal assistant” refer to legal secretarywork and, therefore, “paralegal” is the title of choice formany.Certified Legal Assistant (“CLA”) and CertifiedParalegal (“CP”)The National Association of Legal Assistants/Paralegals (“NALA”) provides one of the most recognized certifications a paralegal can obtain. Its CLA/CPprogram was established in 1976, to offer a nationwidedesignation for all paralegals. Because the terms aresynonymous, paralegals who successfully complete theNALA CP exam may choose either the CLA or CP title. As of March 22, 2012, there are 16,900 CertifiedParalegals, 4,299 of whom are located in Florida.In the past, the two-day CP exam was giventhree times a year in a handwritten paper format. Theexam has been described as grueling by many and it isnot uncommon for an examinee to need to re-take atleast one section. The exam consists of five sections:communications (objective and essay); judgment andlegal analysis (essay required); ethics; legal research andsubstantive law. The substantive law section includesone section on the American legal system plus four sections in practice areas selected from a list by examinees.In September 2010, the exam was computerized and cannow be taken in individual sections on different datesselected by the examinee.To qualify to sit for the CP exam, a paralegalmust meet a specific combination of education and/orwork experience requirements. The CLA/CP designationis awarded for a period of 5 years and, to maintain theirCP status, paralegals must submit 50 hours of CLE(which includes 5 ethics CLE).Advanced Certified Paralegal (“ACP”)Once a paralegal has achieved the CLA/CP designation, he or she has the option to obtain an advancedNALA certification.Because ACP courses are designed specificallyfor paralegals with a current CLA/CP designation, thefocus is on education and learning specific subject matter as opposed to testing. Each course is about 20 hoursin length and actual completion time depends on the paralegal’s understanding of the material. There are currently about a dozen different subjects available, includingdiscovery, trial practice, ADR, social security disability,trademarks and more.Upon completion, a paralegal may use the ACPdesignation and is also awarded CLE credits towards hisor her reporting requirements. If a paralegal fails tomaintain his or her CLA/CP designation, that paralegalwill also lose the advanced certification. As of May 2,2012, there are 2,615 Advanced Certified Paralegals,490 of whom are located in Florida.The Broward Brief May/June/July 2012 Page 2

Florida Certified Paralegal (“FCP”)Core Registered Paralegal (“CRP”)In addition to the ACP, a paralegal who hasachieved the CLA/CP designation can also obtain theFlorida Certified Paralegal designation. The FCP wasestablished in 1980 by the Paralegal Association ofFlorida, Inc. to compliment NALA’s CLA/CP program.In 2011, NFPA launched the Paralegal CORECompetency (“PCC”) Exam designed to test the corecompetencies of early-career and entry-level paralegals.The exam takes into account coursework in a paralegalprogram and also actual skills considered essential tobasic competency in the paralegal profession.The FCP exam is a three hour in-depth examthat covers Florida law. It is given once a year in central Florida and consists of multiple choice, true/falseand matching questions and an essay. The test has twosections. The first covers ethics, civil procedure andFlorida general law that includes Florida’s court system, basic criminal law, basic property law, basic estateand probate law, basic family law and basic businesslaw. The second section covers the test taker’s choiceof real estate, probate law, business law, family law orcriminal law.The FCP designation is awarded for a period of5 years and, in order to maintain their FCP status, paralegals must submit 30 hours of CLE (which includes 5ethics CLE). As of December 29, 2011, there are 170Florida Certified Paralegals.Registered Paralegal (“RP”)In 1996, the National Federation of ParalegalAssociations, Inc. (“NFPA”) began offering the RPdesignation upon successful completion of its ParalegalAdvanced Competency Exam (“PACE”). PACE is afour-hour computerized exam, which consists of 200multiple choice questions. The exam covers tasks thatparalegals may frequently perform, and is not restrictedto a particular practice area or geographic location. Thetopics covered include: administration of client legalmatters; development of client legal matters; factualand legal research; factual and legal writing and officeadministration.There are numerous options for eligibility to sitfor the PCC exam, because it is designed for individuals who may not have the education or work experiencenecessary to sit for other certification exams. The examconsists of 125 multiple choice questions and examinees are given 2 and ½ hours to finish. Upon successfulcompletion, the CRP designation is awarded. The CRPdesignation is awarded for a period of 2 years and, inorder to maintain their CRP status, paralegals must submit 8 hours of CLE (which includes 1 ethics CLE). Asof July 2011, there are 146 Core Registered Paralegalsnationwide.Florida Registered Paralegal (“FRP”)In March 2008, the Florida Bar began accepting paralegal registrations. The Florida Registered Paralegal (“FRP”) program is a voluntarily registrationprogram, not a certifying program. When it first began,paralegals could qualify to become an FRP throughwork experience alone under a grandfathering provision. That provision expired in March 2011, and is nolonger an option. Paralegals must now possess either aCP or RP designation or a combination of educationand work experience.Like attorneys, registered paralegals must renew their membership on a yearly basis and submit 30hours of CLE (which includes 5 ethics CLE) every reporting cycle. As of May 4, 2012, there are 5,409 Florida Registered Paralegals. [This article continues onPage 18 See Paralegal Designations]To qualify to sit for PACE, a paralegal mustmeet a specific combination of education and work experience requirements. The RP designation is awardedfor a period of 2 years and, in order to maintain theirRP status, paralegals must submit 12 hours of CLE(which includes 1 ethics CLE). As of February 2012,there are 824 Registered Paralegals nationwide.The Broward Brief May/June/July 2012 Page 3

We held our Annual Election and Installation of Officers at our April 4 Dinner Meeting. Pictured above from Left to Right:Michelle Ridge, CP, CFLA (Treasurer); Patricia Creech, FRP (Treasurer); Janet Jenssen, FRP (Secretary); Steve May, FRP(Second Vice President); Carolanne Kelley, FRP (First Vice President); Lisa C. Bono, CP, FRP (President) and the HonorableMichele Towbin Singer.PARALEGAL ASSOCATION OF FLORIDA, INC.2012-2013 Executive Board Broward County ChapterPRESIDENTLisa C. Bono, CP, FRP954-712-8636 Worklbono@krupnicklaw.com954-605-7422 CellFIRST VICE PRESIDENTCarolanne Kelley, FRP954-759-8908 WorkCarolanne.kelley@akerman.com954-599-1022 CellSECOND VICE PRESIDENTSteve May, FRP954-989-8100 WorkSmay@sbwlawfirm.com561-927-7296 CellSECRETARYJan Jenssen, FRP954-761-3550 icia Creech, FRP954-345-0250 Work(Ext. 242)patricia.creech@yahoo.com305-776-3114 CellTREASURERMichelle Ridge, CP, CFLA954-430-3160 WorkRidgeMD@bellsouth.netPARLIAMENTARIANRicki Witte, ACP, FCP, FRP954-566-3772 th Wiesend, CP, FRP954-712-8634 Workewiesend@krupnicklaw.com954-260-4124 CellThe Broward Brief May/June/July 2012 Page 4